"Get some rest. I'm heading back to the city." Liu Weian spoke softly after setting Lu Yan's broken bones.
"What for?" Lu Yan hesitated, her voice unusually timid.
"Can you carry all these weapons?" Liu Weian asked.
"Weapons? What for?" Lu Yan looked puzzled.
"They're ours—spoils of war." Liu Weian gave her a strange look. Had she never done this before?
"Is that… okay? I mean, they belonged to someone else." Lu Yan's voice held a hint of unease.
"And when you killed them, did you stop to think those lives were someone else's too?" Liu Weian shot back.
Lu Yan opened her mouth, then closed it again. Fair point. If you'd already killed them, taking their weapons didn't seem like a big leap.
First, Liu Weian moved Lu Yan to a safer place—getting gnawed on by zombies would be the real tragedy. Then he took Zheng Xiubo's bow and peeled off his leather armor. The bow was of excellent quality, and the armor—lightweight yet strong—was perfect for an archer.
Zheng Xiubo had a slender frame, and now that Liu Weian was little more than skin and bones himself, the armor fit like a glove. Running at full speed, it took him less than half an hour to reach Stone City. He retrieved the ox cart he had parked at the "Can't-Cure-Death" pharmacy. The old yellow ox recognized Liu Weian and didn't act up.
The pharmacy was now open 24/7. The night watchman was a young apprentice of Master Sun, full of enthusiasm. When he heard Liu Weian needed help, he even woke his cousin to lend a hand. But Liu Weian was dealing with loot from a deadly ambush—he didn't want to drag innocent people into it and politely declined.
Driving two ox carts alone was no easy feat—if the ox hadn't known him, it would've been impossible. By the time he made it back, more than an hour had passed. The graveyard was still quiet—no one had come.
Lu Yan's wounds had healed considerably. She couldn't exert much force, but gathering up weapons was still manageable. Liu Weian opened skulls to extract power seeds and carved out meat sacs. Lu Yan collected the gear. They worked like a well-oiled team.
There were so many dead bodies that by the time they finished, it was already past 9 PM.
Both of Liu Weian's space rings were full. Lu Yan's 3-cubic-meter space ring was packed too, and they still had over half a cartload of weapons—mostly shields, which were bulky. The other cart was filled with zombie corpses. Lu Yan had initially been confused by this.
"What are you doing with all these bodies?"
When she learned that zombie corpses could be sold for money, she went silent for a long time before finally asking:
"Can I be your partner?"
She'd entered World of Beasts two months before Liu Weian and had always hunted solo in the mountains. On average, she killed one monster per day—mostly small fry like rabbits or wild chickens. The long-haired boars they encountered today were the first she'd ever seen. Her daily earnings averaged around 1,000 copper coins—decent among players. The two large space rings she owned were proof of that.
But after hearing how Liu Weian made money from killing rotting corpses, her pride evaporated. She earned 10 silver coins a day; Liu Weian was already at 10 gold coins minimum—even 15 on a good day.
And that was just regular income. If he counted the extra loot, the number would have an extra zero.
"I'd love that," Liu Weian agreed without hesitation. Truth be told, he'd realized the shortcomings of an archer during this stretch. Long-range attacks were great, but he couldn't handle close combat. If monsters came in large waves or were fast, he had no choice but to retreat. With a warrior like Lu Yan holding the front, he wouldn't need to run so often.
Not to mention, when someone was tanking up front, monsters clustered together, making them easier to shoot. Efficiency would go way up.
The Plum Blossom Trading Company. Yes, it was the Plum Blossom Company again.
When the shopkeeper saw the sheer volume of weapons and shields, the shock finally registered on his face. He stared at Liu Weian for several seconds. This young man had clearly exceeded expectations. It took about ten minutes to sort the gear. The valuation took less than one.
"You're a regular, so here's a good deal: 1,300 gold coins. How's that sound?"
"Deal!" Liu Weian had estimated about that much himself. Outside the shop, he handed Lu Yan 650 gold coins. Her hands trembled as she took them. Killing people hadn't fazed her, but receiving this windfall made her feel like a thief.
Watching her nervously clutching the money, Liu Weian wanted to say, "Stick with me, and you'll eat well and live better." But in the end, he said nothing.
As he drove the ox cart toward the "Can't-Cure-Death" pharmacy, Lu Yan suddenly remembered something and logged out in a hurry. Liu Weian didn't pry. After all, it was only their second meeting—hardly time to get personal.
After unloading the corpses, he returned to the graveyard and brought back the remaining zombies, walkers, and rotters. He had already struck gold, but he wouldn't forget his core job. Besides, money favored the early bird. Who knew what might happen tomorrow?
By the time he returned to the shop, it was nearly midnight. He was sleepy but couldn't rest yet—he had work to do.
Talisman crafting.
If not for the corpse-dispelling talisman today, things could have ended very badly. That man's Stone Demon Hand had been monstrous. Even the undead's resistance to blades and immense strength had been useless. The arrows hadn't even scratched him. The guy was terrifying.
Maybe it was the brush with death, but Liu Weian felt unusually calm. In two hours, he drew 25 talismans. Six failed; nineteen succeeded. Still a high failure rate, but much improved from yesterday. The corpse-dispelling talisman had become his trump card. He needed to keep honing it.
Exiting the inn, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Just as he was about to log off, a thought struck him:
Why was he always worrying about retaliation from the Pegasus Caravan?
Why not retaliate first?
Why always be on the defensive?
Why not make them fear him?
He suddenly realized he'd fallen into a trap—too passive. If he'd attacked first today, maybe the crisis wouldn't have happened. He could spend some gold to bribe people to track the Pegasus Caravan. Kill anyone they sent. Rob their carts. As the saying goes, barefooted people aren't afraid of those with shoes.
The Pegasus Caravan was a large operation—with wealth came weakness. Liu Weian was alone. As long as he hid in the mountains, even an army wouldn't find him. With his space ring, he could stock up on food and arrows and live out there for months. He could endure. The caravan couldn't.
Every day they didn't do business, they lost gold. Go a month without business, and they'd go bankrupt.
From that angle, they should fear him.
They should be the ones coming to negotiate.
That was the right way to handle it.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Finally, he slapped his thigh and growled:
"Hell with it—time for a big score!"
The Pegasus Caravan, one of Stone City's mid-tier powers, operated several storefronts. Their inventory was focused but incredibly lucrative: power seeds and meat sacs.
Everyone knew how valuable power seeds were. But money? Money was even more critical. People could survive without a power seed—but not without cash. So many chose to sell the seeds they found rather than use them.
Even the cheapest seed cost seventy to eighty silver coins. Better ones went for several gold. The best? Tens or even hundreds of gold coins. Sell them to the nobility, and prices skyrocketed. The Pegasus Caravan made a killing buying low and selling high.
Meat sacs were the same. And even more profitable—because of "meat sac gambling."
The caravan collected thousands of meat sacs and ran gambling events day and night. The rules varied, but the most common games were:
Bet on the item inside.
Bet on its value.
Head-to-head bets—two people each pick a sac, and whoever gets the more valuable item wins.
The odds were wild. One lucky draw could make you rich overnight. Crowds flocked to it. Even honest guys like Black Ox had gambled a few times—though he only bet a few copper coins and lost every time.
Now it was deep into the night. The streets were eerily quiet. World of Beasts wasn't like the human world—no streetlights. The only light came from the moon.
Liu Weian crept into the Pegasus Caravan's shop. Shady operations usually ran at night, but not here—stores closed at dusk. Only two clerks and a manager were inside.
After confirming there were no other guards, Liu Weian silently took them out, one by one.
What he didn't know was that the store usually had ten guards. But two things happened today:
The caravan leader took all the men to ambush him.
The young master had gone to another city to party and took the remaining guards with him.
It wasn't standard procedure—but who could stop the young master?
Pure coincidence—and Liu Weian cashed in.
He opened the warehouse. Power seeds sparkled like crystal, dazzling his eyes. Packed in wooden barrels—one and a half of them, enough to hold tens of thousands.
Jackpot.
The next room held meat sacs—pitch black, packed to the ceiling.
He swept everything into his space ring.
In the final chest—gold coins. Thousands of them. The room glowed with their light.
His hands trembled as he scooped them up. Must be over sixteen or seventeen thousand coins. In that moment, he understood how Lu Yan felt holding 650.
Half an hour later, Liu Weian stepped out of the store and quietly closed the door behind him.